Monday, July 28, 2014

Odd Fellows Ice Cream - Unstrangely Delicious

Last Thursday eve, Dan and I had an early birthday celebration for me (just the two of us), and it was perfect. Starting things off at The Brindle Room in the East Village, we ended our eating adventure with ice cream at the new Odd Fellows Manhattan locale. Not only did it not disappoint, it left a lasting impression and a curiosity to try other interesting flavors.

Atmosphere:Set amongst lots of other amazing East Village eateries, Odd Fellows fits right in with the chilled out, experimental vibe of this neighborhood. While the location is on the small side, equivalent to something like the new Momofuku Milk Bar(also in the East Village), it has a lot to offer to ravenous New Yorkers. A friendly looking bench welcomes you even before you come in, and you'll find a few people out there lingering and enjoying their freshly scooped ice cream. The inside is intimate and a little narrow, but overall feels cozy and welcoming with a high counter that you can hover around and place your ice cream on, as you get ready to devour.

Ice Cream:I like that there's only 8 flavors to choose from each day and they're all freshly made. Although I expected the flavors to be unusual and funky, Thursday's offering seemed a bit standard with things like Tahitian vanilla, s'mores, chocolate chip caramel and the like. This was A-OK with me, as I quickly chose my poison and wasn't disappointed.

Milk Chocolate Coconut & S'mores - Going all out with two scoops, I first tasted the s'mores, which was anything but an ordinary vanilla, graham crackers and chocolate. Certainly more of the chocolate persuasion, the s'mores tasted smoky (almost baconey) and truly reminded me of roasting s'mores by the campfire. The milk chocolate, coconut flavor which sat at the bottom of my cup was delightful as well and super creamy. My favorite aspects were the little pieces of coconut flecks that bejeweled this generous scoop.

Chocolate Chunk with Caramel - Although it didn't sound overly exciting, I have to say that Dan's ice cream scoop, which sat on a homemade sugar cone was a total standout. The chocolate part was rich and slightly bitter, which was awesome, while the caramel ribbons shone through sporadically--pleasantly surprising your tastebuds with silky butteriness.

Service and Cost:Two young ladies worked the ice cream counter and they were pretty friendly. Not overly so, but nice enough for sure - reminding me of my early days as an ice cream girl at Baskin Robbins. Costs are pretty standard at $4 for a single scoop or $5.25 for a double. Luckily, I was able to use my Blackboard Eats coupon, which saved us around $3 off our total bill, which is awesome.